A newsreader for KIIS 101.1 Melbourne has claimed Bryce Ruthven already had a bad reputation in the radio industry before he emerged as the ‘villain’ of this year’s season of Married At First Sight – and this may prevent him from getting another job.
Sacha Barbour, who delivers news bulletins for the Jase & PJ breakfast show, hinted during a podcast on April 16 that she’d heard rumours about Ruthven, 31, that put her off working with him.
Ms Harbour did not specify what she’d heard about the former Canberra hit104.7 afternoons host, but said it was enough for her to be relieved that Ruthven’s attempt to find work at KIIS had been unsuccessful.
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Rumours: A newsreader for KIIS 101.1 Melbourne has claimed Bryce Ruthven (pictured) already had a bad reputation in the radio industry before he emerged as the ‘villain’ of this year’s season of Married At First Sight – and this may prevent him from getting another job
She made the comments after KIIS 101.1 content director ‘Chatty Tony’ Aldridge revealed Ruthven had asked him about job opportunities at the station.
Mr Aldridge expressed reservation about hiring Ruthven given his bad reputation from MAFS, but said the main reason he couldn’t offer him any work was because there weren’t any vacancies for DJs.
This prompted Ms Harbour to reply: ‘I know things about him but I’m obviously not going to say them because that’s very unprofessional.’
Claims: Sacha Barbour (pictured), who delivers news bulletins for the Jase & PJ breakfast show, hinted on April 16 she’d heard rumours about Ruthven, 31, that put her off working with him
‘But yes, I’m glad that maybe there isn’t a position [at KIIS 101.1] for him at the moment,’ she added.
It’s unclear what exactly Ms Harbour was referring to, but it’s no secret the outspoken groom has ruffled feathers in the workplace in the past.
One of his former colleagues at Canberra hit104.7, radio announcer Jason Roses, infamously threw him under the bus on MAFS by revealing he had a ‘secret girlfriend’ outside the experiment.
Mr Roses then sensationally announced the pair were no longer friends.
WSFM host Amanda Keller has also said she disliked Ruthven’s blokey bond with her co-anchor Brendan ‘Jonesy’ Jones when he was a studio producer for their breakfast show for nine months.
However, it’s worth noting Jonesy and Amanda have also said nice things about Ruthven on air, and believe his negative portrayal on MAFS was at least partially the result of a bad edit.
Looking for work: She made the comments after KIIS 101.1 content director ‘Chatty Tony’ Aldridge (pictured) revealed Ruthven had asked him about job opportunities at the station
When contacted for comment by Daily Mail Australia, Ruthven confirmed he had spoken to Mr Aldridge, but insisted it ‘wasn’t about a job’.
‘The catch-up wasn’t about a job. Tony was kind enough to free up some time and offer some advice on how I can move forward in radio from my portrayal on MAFS,’ he said on Monday.
As for Ms Harbour saying she was glad he wasn’t joining KIIS 101.1, Ruthven said they barely knew each other.
‘I worked in the same building as Sacha in Sydney for about nine months and never once did she ever have a conversation with me,’ he stated.
‘I find it interesting she “knows things” about me when she didn’t [make] any attempt to get to know a fellow work colleague. I didn’t know who she was until the end of my stint there.’
He continued: ‘It’s disappointing that other media personalities attempt to bring down others in their industry instead of supporting each other – particularly when they don’t know the first thing about the person they’re making comments about.
‘I worked closely with Jonesy and Amanda, not Sacha, and I believe they’ve described the opposite to what Sacha’s comments portray.’
No position: Despite various staff departures at the Jase & PJ breakfast show in recent months, Mr Aldridge told Ruthven there were no vacancies at the station. Pictured: KIIS 101.1 hosts Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins (left) and Polly ‘PJ’ Harding (right)
Ruthven is hoping to return to broadcasting following his divisive portrayal on Married At First Sight, and already has some high-profile backers in the industry.
He recently struck up a friendship with Kyle Sandilands, the host of Sydney’s most popular FM breakfast show on KIIS 106.5.
Sandilands, 49, has even described Ruthven on air as a younger version of himself.
His last regular radio job was hosting the afternoon shifts and weekend breakfast for Hit104.7 with Ellie Mobbs and Jason Roses.
Before moving to Canberra, Ruthven had been the studio producer for WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda for less than a year.
His partnership with Melissa Rawson on MAFS was controversial to say the least, with viewers accusing him of gaslighting and manipulating his on-screen wife.
But despite their tumultuous journey in Nine’s social experiment, the couple are still together months after filming wrapped.
Divisive: Ruthven’s partnership with Melissa Rawson (left) on MAFS was controversial to say the least, with viewers accusing him of gaslighting and manipulating his on-screen wife